Promises
by Wickedgal08
Summary: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 FINALE! Sun discovers Charlie's ring and thinks about what a promise means to her and, more importantly, what the ring indicates. She reminisces about the young man and makes another promise, one that will be a lot harder to keep.


**Promises**

**A/n- **_Ok, I've literally just seen the finale and I LOVED it! Seriously the only thing I can criticise is the BLOODY CLIFFHANGER lol. The most lovely scene in it, in my opinion, was the scene I'd been waiting to see since season 4. Finding Charlie's ring. This is a little one-shot about Sun's reaction to seeing the ring, and what it means to her. _

Along the shore, Sun walked. Her thoughts were fairly serene considering the fact she was following a man who was supposedly dead and another man who was a twisted, psychotic Other, as well as a complete liar. She didn't belong here.

The remains of her old camp made her heartbeat increase, knowing that some of her happiest memories with Jin were here. Along the beach, they'd been reunited twice and between the drapes of a now torn tent, they'd conceived her daughter. Wow. Thinking about what happened, what she'd been through, it brought out a real strong reaction. Her eyes filled with tears and her cheeks blushed with the memories of Jin and her.

Locke was watching her, a look of curiosity on his featues but she no longer cared about him. He'd changed and, in a way, had left her behind too.

It was strange wandering around her old campsite. She half expected Jack to come running across the camp, followed by Kate with some bad news. Across the campsite, she imagined Claire with her baby and she could actually envision Charlie walking over to them with breakfast, ready to take the infant off of Claire's hands and give her some peace. She could still remember where Sawyer's tent was, where Jin and herself used to fish and where every single memorable event happened. In some ways, her life on the island was much better than the life she'd had back home.

Sun saw an overturned crib and her heart soared, remembering the last time she had seen him. He was a gorgeous little lad with soft blonde hair and a smile that would warm the heart of anyone. She made her way over to the crib slowly, wondering if she was just stirring up ghosts by intruding in Claire's tent. Her hand touched the wood and caressed it softly before she turned the crib back over.

It was surreal, her being there in the place of Claire. Though there was no infant in the crib, Sun felt wrong being there. Claire wasn't dead, she was sure of that, and therefore it felt wrong being inside (if you could call it that) the remains of her tent. That's when her eyes caught sight of it. A ring, silver in colour, was concealed beneath the velvet curtains that formed the mattress of the crib. It was a beautiful ring, not cheap and tacky like some rings were, with the initials DS on it. It was strangely familiar to her and it took her a moment before she realised whose hand this ring had last been on.

_Charlie's._

She stared at it in wonder, knowing that this was a piece of Charlie's heart, figuratively speaking, in her hand. Often, her eyes had strayed to the young rockstar and seen him caressing the ring with such love and affection in his eyes you would've thought the ring had been his lover or a close friend. Her heart skipped a beat, her eyes misted over with tears and she remembered the day of her wedding. The exchanging of rings, the look of sincerity and devotion in Jin's eyes and the beautiful words he'd spoken all were a reminder that she'd made a promise to him. To remain loyal and to love him with all her heart until her dying day. That promise had never wavered, even during the darker days of her marriage.

So what did this ring signify? To her recollection, she couldn't remember Charlie ever giving the ring to Claire. So why was it in Aaron's crib? Then it dawned upon her. How could she have been so blind? This was also a promise ring, a promise made from Charlie to Aaron. It was one of them ring's that you passed down from generation to generation. Charlie saw Aaron as his own and decided there was no one better to give it to then Aaron. Sun's eyes misted over again. What a s_weet _man! Despite his earlier confession that he'd been the one who'd attacked her, she'd forgiven him. You couldn't hate Charlie, no matter what he did. He always atoned for his sins and it was something she'd always admired about him.

As soon as the truth of the ring dawned on her, an even darker truth reached her mind. Charlie couldn't possibly have given the ring to Aaron, without knowing when his own demise was going to occur. He knew he was going to die. It wasn't just a guess, or a coincidence. He knew. Oh my God, _he knew! _

"What you got there?" Locke's cheerful voice seemed strangely out of place here. Cheerfulness was a feeling she'd not felt for three years. He hovered over her and stared at the ring between her fingers. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Charlie's ring." Sun answered him coolly. "Why do you think he left it here?"

Locke hesitated. It wasn't really his place to answer but he could see that the mystery of the ring was upsetting her. Was it just because it was Charlie's or was there some other reason why the ring was making her so troubled? "You want my best guess? I assume he left it there, knowing his mission could've ended badly."

"That's what I thought," Sun replied. "At first. But think about it John. He didn't leave it here out of a whim or a guess. He left it here because he _knew _he was going to die. If there was a chance he could've survived, do you really think he would've just left it behind? It meant a lot to him, that ring."

"Look Sun," Locke interrupted her. "I don't think stirring up ghosts is helping anybody. What's done is done. He died and we're still here. I think what's in the past, should stay in the past."

"He left it in Aaron's crib." Sun said quietly. "I think that's pretty significant don't you? He wanted it to be passed along to Aaron, knowing he'd never see him again." She caressed the ring softly, silently vowing to give this ring to Claire, if she couldn't reach Aaron. She had a feeling though she'd never see either of them again.

"Charlie was a good man, Sun." Locke smiled at her. "He lived as he died. As a hero. All that ring does is serve as a reminder that he's gone. Claire's gone and so is Aaron. What's the sense in keeping it?" He gave her shoulder a quick, reassuring pat before walking off.

Sun stare after him, hating how blasé he was. She pocketed the ring, knowing Charlie's last request was that it be passed down to Aaron. If she couldn't fulfil that, she could at least keep it safe. If she ever got off the island again, hopefully with Jin, she'd give it to him, explaining that the man who'd given it to him was a hero who'd loved him very much.

The idea of a promise is to make a statement and see it carried out. Sun promised herself, and all the people she'd ever lost, that she'd give this ring to Aaron, reunite herself with Jin and get the hell off this island once and for all. The ring would bind her to that promise, both her wedding ring and Charlie's ring. She'd loved and lost, laughed and cried and watched her husband being torn away from her. Her heart was on the edge of a precipice and one more loss could push her over the edge. It was important that she held on to the mere hope that Jin was alive and well and that she'd see him again.

Thing was, Claire had held on to the same hope with Charlie and she'd had her heart broken. Sun watched as the Others started to move and she directed her gaze onto the crib. She softly stroked the velvet material and promised Charlie that she'd fulfil his last request. No matter what. After all, wasn't that what a promise was? She'd made so many promises, some of them had been broken and she wasn't sure if any promise could be kept. Her eyes closed briefly and she pictured the small, island family. Charlie, Claire, Aaron. She opened her eyes and knew she could keep it. The ring was in her pocket, safe and sound, and so was her faith, her courage and her love for Jin.


End file.
